268 WEST AFRICAN FORESTS AND FORESTRY 
The sapwood is yellowish-white and somewhat broad in 
proportion to the size of the tree, and the hard wood is 
mahogany-red coloured, but with more fibrous grain. It planes 
up with a smooth surface and splits fairly easily, especially 
when nailed. It is moderately hard and quite durable, and 
is not supposed to be attacked by white ants (termites). Like 
most of the Parinariums, the fresh wood smells something like 
honey, and the timber tends to darken on exposure to the 
air, thus improving in colour. 
On the whole it is a shade-bearing tree and not very fast- 
growing. It has soil-protecting and soil-improving qualities. 
Natural regeneration only appears to be very moderate. Like 
most of the Parinariums, the kernels of the fruit are pecked 
out by various birds. No plantations have been made of 
this tree. 
Quite by accident, in 1906 some logs obtained from this tree 
were cut and exported, and sold in the Liverpool market as 
Benin mahogany at 4d. per superficial foot. Since then, how- 
ever, none has been cut. 
Amongst the Benin natives the timber is occasionally 
used for house-building. 
Parinarium excelsum. Essago (Benin). 
It is found in the Ondo, Benin, Owerri and Calabar provinces 
of Nigeria, in the evergreen forest zone, where in certain 
localities it is very prevalent. 
In appearance it is like the rough-skin plum of Sierra Leone, 
but a larger and taller tree. The leaf usually looks dry and 
grey, especially underneath. The crown is oval and very 
dense, with a mass of large limbs. The bark is covered with 
white lenticels, which make it look grey. It usually bears a 
large crop of fruit each year. 
It reaches a girth of over 12 feet and a bole length of about 
50. In proportion to the height, the bole is not so long as in 
the cases of many other forest trees. The fruit is more uneven 
in surface than that of P. robustum, and the surface is also 
more or less speckled with little white raised lumps, giving 
it a roughness to the touch. The fruit inside is yellowish- 
white, rather hard and not unpleasant to taste. Where it is 
found, especially in the more swampy parts, it is often almost 
gregarious in habit. It is an evergreen tree. 
The wood when freshly cut smells like honey. The sap- 
wood is yellowish-white .and the heartwood is brown. On 
the whole it is much harder than P. robustum. Occasionally 
it appears cross-grained, and does not plane up with such a 
smooth finish. It saws less easily, and it is hard to drive nails 
